Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 20,565 Shares of Forward Air Corporation $FWRD

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its stake in Forward Air Corporation (FWRD) by 30.8%, selling 20,565 shares and now holding 46,100 shares valued at approximately $926,000.
• Forward Air's recent earnings report indicated a loss of ($0.41) per share, missing estimates, with revenues of $618.84 million, down 3.9% from the previous year.
• Analysts have revised their target prices for Forward Air, with Susquehanna raising it from $40.00 to $43.00 and Stifel Nicolaus from $29.00 to $33.00, leading to a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD - Free Report) by 30.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,100 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 20,565 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of Forward Air worth $926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Forward Air by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,251 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Forward Air by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,949 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Forward Air by 81.3% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,950 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Forward Air by 4.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 42,900 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Forward Air from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Forward Air from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Forward Air from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.75.

Forward Air Stock Up 1.3%

Forward Air stock traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $30.38. 237,382 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 612,270. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.91. Forward Air Corporation has a 1-year low of $9.78 and a 1-year high of $40.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.40. The stock has a market cap of $935.40 million, a P/E ratio of -5.07 and a beta of 1.40.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The transportation company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $618.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $627.98 million. Forward Air had a negative return on equity of 40.36% and a negative net margin of 6.86%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($23.29) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Forward Air Corporation will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Forward Air

Forward Air Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an asset-light freight and logistics company in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Expedited Freight and Intermodal. The Expedited Freight segment provides expedited regional, inter-regional, and national less-than-truckload services; local pick-up and delivery services; and other services, which include shipment consolidation and deconsolidation, warehousing, customs brokerage, and other handling.